A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a British nationwide on suspicion of the homicide of the Kenyan girl Agnes Wanjiru, who was discovered useless within the grounds of a lodge close to a military base in 2012.
The excessive courtroom decide Alexander Muteti issued the arrest warrant earlier on Tuesday in Kenya, with the prosecution telling the courtroom a suspect had been charged with homicide, and searching for the applying for a warrant of arrest to facilitate his extradition to Kenya.
UK-based witnesses shall be known as on to testify in a future trial, the prosecution mentioned. “The witnesses are in United Kingdom however we are going to avail them,” the courtroom heard.
The workplace of the director of public prosecutions knowledgeable the courtroom that the accused had been charged with the offence of homicide.
Wanjiru, 21, was final seen within the firm of British troopers on an evening out within the Lion’s Courtroom lodge in her house city of Nanyuki on 31 March 2012.
She disappeared that evening, with family and friends trying to find her, till her physique was discovered months later stuffed inside a septic tank on the lodge.
Wanjiru, who labored as a hairdresser, and typically bought intercourse for more money, had a daughter, Stacey, who was simply 5 months outdated on the time that she disappeared.
It’s understood that Kenyan authorities will start extradition proceedings, with the intention that the soldier will face costs in Kenya.
“We’ve lived with the ache of Agnes’s dying for over a decade,” her household mentioned in an announcement. “The stories that an arrest warrant has been issued in opposition to a UK citizen is a big second for us and is extremely welcome.”
Tessa Gregory, the household’s lawyer and a accomplice at Leigh Day, added: “The household now calls upon the British authorities to do the whole lot in its energy to make sure that the accused may be extradited and face trial in Kenya as quickly as doable.”
If he’s extradited, it’s believed it will likely be the primary time a present or former British soldier has ever been extradited to a different nation to face trial for the homicide of a civilian.
Up to now, Wanjiru’s dying has been the main focus of two inquests and several other legal inquiries.
The bar of the Lion’s Courtroom lodge was a well-liked vacation spot for British troopers, who have been based mostly on the British Military Coaching Unit Kenya (BATUK) in Nanyuki, which is about 125 miles north of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.
The inquest heard that Wanjiru had final been seen leaving the bar with a number of British troopers.
A suspect was named by a number of troopers who on the time have been hooked up to the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, after an investigation into the homicide by the Sunday Instances in 2021.
For the reason that newspaper recognized a suspected killer, it’s understood that Kenyan detectives have flown to the UK a number of instances to query troopers and ex-soldiers who have been in Nanyuki on the time of the homicide.
Earlier this yr, the defence secretary, John Healey, met Wanjiru’s household in Kenya and promised the UK’s “full assist” for the investigation.
“It was deeply humbling to satisfy the household of Agnes Wanjiru as we speak,” Healey mentioned in April. “Within the 13 years since her dying, they’ve proven such energy of their lengthy battle for justice. I reiterated my dedication to see a decision to the still-unresolved case.”
Beforehand, as shadow defence secretary, Healey had known as on the then Conservative authorities to do extra to resolve the case.
“Agnes’s dying has had a profound and devastating impression on our household,” her family members beforehand mentioned in an announcement.
“It was not solely the shock of shedding Agnes at such a younger age, but in addition the horrific circumstances through which her physique was discovered and all of the trauma and battle our household has been put by way of in making an attempt to hunt justice and accountability for her dying.”
No timeline has been set for any extradition listening to or future trial. The case is subsequent listed for point out in courtroom in Kenya on 21 October
